Brazil’s “failed” response to Covid-19 has led the country to a “humanitarian catastrophe,” Doctors Without Borders said on Thursday, accusing the government of President Jair Bolsonaro of further worsening the health crisis.
“The lack of political will to respond adequately to the pandemic kills Brazilians in thousands of people,” the humanitarian group said in a statement.
The statement highlighted the deadly rise of Covid-19 that has made Brazil the current epicenter of the pandemic.
Brazil’s “failed” response to Covid-19 led the country to a “humanitarian catastrophe,” Doctors Without Borders said Thursday (pictured, cemetery workers are in the coffin of a Covid-19 victim)
The humanitarian organization blamed President Bolsonaro for not responding adequately to the virus, which he described as “little flu”
In all, the disease has claimed more than 385,000 lives in Brazil, second only to the United States
Last week, the country with 212 million people accounted for 11% of infections and 26.2% of deaths caused by Covid-19 worldwide, Doctors Without Borders said
Last week, the country with 212 million people accounted for 11% of infections and 26.2% of deaths caused by Covid-19 worldwide, the group said.
In all, the disease has claimed more than 385,000 lives in Brazil, second only to the United States.
“These staggering figures are clear evidence of the authorities’ failure to manage the country’s health and humanitarian crises and to protect Brazilians, especially the most vulnerable,” he said.
Bolsonaro has long downplayed the pandemic and defied expert advice on measures to curb it, leaving state and local authorities to implement a disorderly mix of response measures.
Last week, the country with 212 million people accounted for 11% of infections and 26.2% of deaths caused by Covid-19 worldwide, the group said
Bolsonaro has long downplayed the pandemic and defied expert advice on measures to curb it, leaving state and local authorities to implement a messy package of response measures.
Bolsonaro has long downplayed the pandemic and defied expert advice on measures to curb it, leaving state and local authorities to implement a messy package of response measures.
Doctors without borders said the lack of an “efficient, centralized and coordinated” response exacerbated the crisis.
“Public health measures have become a political battleground in Brazil,” said Christos Christou, the group’s chairman, who is sometimes referred to by his French acronym MSF.
“As a result, science-based policies are associated with political views, rather than the need to protect individuals and their communities.”
The statement came two days after the Brazilian Senate launched a committee of inquiry into how Bolsonaro treated the pandemic.
Doctors Without Borders condemned the lack of masks and social distancing in Brazil, which was “avoided and politicized” even as Bolsonaro and his allies promote drugs such as hydroxychloroquine against anti-malarial drugs, despite studies documenting their ineffectiveness against Covid. -19.
“Feeding disease and death in Brazil is an overwhelming amount of misinformation,” he said. He also condemned the country’s “half-speed” vaccination campaign.
The organization, which has been operating in Brazil since 1991, has deployed medical teams in eight of Brazil’s 27 states to respond to the pandemic.
The outbreak pushes hospitals to the breaking point, with many patients dying before the bed of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) becomes available.
ICU capacity currently stands at about 80% in all 27 regions of Brazil.
Moreover, more than 50% of intensive care beds are currently occupied by patients under the age of 40, according to a study published over the weekend by the Brazilian Intensive Care Association.
The outbreak pushes hospitals to the breaking point, with many patients dying before the bed of the Intensive Care Unit becomes available (pictured, a field hospital in Santo Andre)
More than 50 percent of intensive care beds are currently occupied by patients under the age of 40, according to a study published by the Brazilian Association of Intensive Care Medicine.
It is unclear why many young people become seriously ill during the current wave of the virus in Brazil, but some scientists believe the new P1 variant could be at least partially to blame (in the photo, freshly dug graves in a Brazilian cemetery , Brazil)
The new statistic is a 16.5% jump compared to the occupancy rate of that age group between December and February. The report is based on data from more than a third of all intensive care units in the country.
It is unclear why many young people become seriously ill during the current wave of the virus in Brazil, but some scientists believe that the new P1 variant that appeared in the city of Amazon Manaus could be at least partly to blame.
Other factors, such as the behavior of younger people who may feel less concerned about going out and socializing, and vaccinating older people, could also influence the data.
However, Brazil’s vaccination program was painfully slow and only about 3% of the population, about 6.3 million people, received both blows.
Another 21.1 million received a vaccine, according to the country’s health ministry. But at least 1.5 million of them delayed the program for the second jab and there were no explanations for the government’s delay.
Bolsonaro has drawn widespread criticism for his approach to coronavirus, which he described as “a little flu”.
He repeatedly ignored calls from health experts to wear masks and rejected the use of blocking measures.
A government pandemic response investigation was launched on Tuesday after a Supreme Court judge ruled last week that enough senators had backed the investigation.
The congressional investigation, known by its Portuguese acronym IPC, could result in a number of actions, including the sending of possible wrongdoing to law enforcement.
An investigation into Bolsonaro’s pandemic response was launched on Tuesday after a Supreme Court judge ruled last week that enough senators had backed the investigation.